VZCZCXRO7881
RR RUEHDE
DE RUEHC #8327/01 1520230
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 302202Z MAY 08
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 1169-1171
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 7646-7648
INFO RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC 3388-3390
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHINGTON DC 4132-4134
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC 9795-9797
RUEPINS/HQ BICE INTEL WASHINGTON DC

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 058327 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION AND REMOVING 
SENSITIVE (CLASSIFICATION) 
 
ABU DHABI FOR OLIVER JOHN 
ECON 
DUBAI FOR DANUSIA HUBAH 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/16/2023 
TAGS: ETTC KOMC OTRA PARM PREL AE
SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN: DISCUSSIONS WITH EMBASSY AND 
EMIRATI OFFICIALS FEBRUARY 24-27 
 
REF: ABU DHABI 325 
 
STATE 00058327  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Classified By: David C. Trimble for reasons 1.4(a), (b), and (d) 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Compliance Specialist Judd Stitziel from 
the Department's Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance 
(PM/DTCC) met February 24-27 with country team and Emirati 
officials to discuss implementation of the Blue Lantern 
end-use monitoring program and other defense trade issues in 
the United Arab Emirates.  Internal discussions focused on 
the UAE as a hub of gray arms activity.  In Abu Dhabi, 
Stitziel briefed the Blue Lantern program to senior MOD 
General Headquarters logistics officers and attendees of the 
US-UAE Counterproliferation Task Force Meeting.  In Dubai, 
internal USG discussions with the Iran Regional Presence 
Office, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and others 
focused on the region as a major transshipment hub and the 
Emiratis, balance between promoting commerce and preventing 
gray arms trafficking.  The visit helped to inform and 
improve communication about Blue Lantern and gray arms 
trafficking while solidifying host government understanding 
of and support for the program. 
 
¶2. (S/NF) The UAE has long been a major nexus of illicit 
diversions of U.S.-origin defense articles.  Contributing 
factors include the UAE's nascent export control laws, 
limited enforcement capacity, proximity to Iran, heavy trade 
volume with Iran, and the limited controls and accountability 
of Dubai's free trade zone.  While USG agencies are aware of 
many Iranian front companies and illicit shipments of 
US-origin defense articles to Iran via the UAE, much less is 
known about how these items reach the UAE in the first place. 
 UAEG cooperation with Blue Lantern checks has been generally 
good, if often slow, and USG officials have been able to 
conduct Blue Lantern site visits to private UAE companies 
without incident.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3. (U) Administered by PM/DDTC's Office of Defense Trade 
Controls Compliance (PM/DTCC), Blue Lantern is a global 
program designed to verify the end-use, end-users, and 
disposition of commercially exported defense articles, 
technology, and services.  This visit to the UAE was part of 
PM/DTCC's ongoing efforts to improve the effectiveness of 
Blue Lantern through outreach visits with posts and host 
governments. 
 
UAE MOD LOGISTICS DEPARTMENT ON BOARD WITH BLUE LANTERN 
 
¶4. (U) Stitziel met with the head of the Logistics Department 
at the UAE MOD's General Headquarters, Col. Saeed 
Al-Dakhamdi, and several of his colleagues to discuss the 
Blue Lantern program on February 24.  Since Col. Dakhamdi had 
responded to several Blue Lantern inquiries in the past, he 
was able to help explain the rationale and benefits of the 
program to his colleagues who were present and recently 
joined the Logistics Department.  Discussion focused on how 
to make end-use checks run as smoothly and efficiently as 
possible.  Col. Dakhamdi explained the MOD's procurement and 
accounting procedures, including the following:  The 
Logistics Department's Director General is the only person 
who is authorized to sign end-user statements and U.S. 
Department of State Nontransfer and Use Certificates (Form 
DSP-83); and all contracts, end-use statements, and purchase 
orders must contain a detailed itemized list of contents. 
Col. Dakhamdi commented that purchase order numbers greatly 
assist the MOD in responding to Blue Lantern inquiries as 
quickly as possible.  Stitziel responded that the USG always 
provides as much specific information as possible, but in 
some cases purchase order numbers are not available, perhaps 
precisely because the MOD never placed the order in question. 
 The meeting closed with both sides agreeing on the value of 
continuing to strengthen bilateral cooperation and 
communication through the Blue Lantern program. 
 
INTERNAL BLUE LANTERN BRIEFINGS WITH EMBASSY PERSONNEL 
 
STATE 00058327  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Stitziel briefed the Blue Lantern program to members 
of the country team, including Nasir Khan, Bureau of Industry 
and Security (BIS), Department of Commerce (DOC); Ransom 
Avilla, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Attache; 
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Hancock, USMC, Deputy Chief, United States 
Liaison Office; Erika Wanamaker, Political-Military Officer; 
and Oliver John, Economic Officer.  The Economic Section is 
responsible for coordinating Blue Lantern checks in the UAE. 
The program in the UAE is one of the most important in the 
world, with post conducting a significant number of checks 
(86 initiated since 2003), of which almost 60 percent have 
been pre-license checks. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Participants discussed specific past challenges of 
the program in the UAE, including heavy caseloads, limited 
personnel resources on both the US and Emirati sides, and 
sometimes lengthy delays in responding to Blue Lantern 
requests.  Given the Economic Section's limited resources and 
time, Stitziel encouraged post to draw on the full range of 
country team resources, including ICE, DOD's Liaison Office, 
and Foreign Commercial Service (FCS), when conducting checks. 
 Post already has demonstrated good cooperation between DOS 
and DOC in sharing information gathered through the Blue 
Lantern program and DOC's Extrancheck end-use monitoring 
program.  Although generally responsive to requests to 
confirm orders and to verify the bona fides of suppliers 
listed on license applications, Emirati MOD officers 
sometimes do not respond in a timely manner. 
 
¶7. (SBU) After being briefed on the Blue Lantern program, 
Col. Bret Rider, U.S. Defense and Air Attache, commented that 
he has conducted several Blue Lantern checks but generally 
does not receive information about ultimate results. 
Stitziel explained that PM/DTCC is working to improve the 
feedback loop by regularly informing post of the licensing 
decisions made as a result of Blue Lantern checks. 
 
COUNTERPROLIFERATION TASK FORCE MEETING 
 
¶8. (SBU) Stitziel briefed the Blue Lantern program to the 
US-UAE Counterproliferation Task Force Meeting on February 
¶25.  As reported reftel, Acting ISN Assistant Secretary 
Patricia McNerney led the interagency US delegation, while 
Brigadier General Mohammad bin Dhaen al Qemzi, Director of 
Dubai's General Department of State Security (GDSS), led an 
interagency UAE delegation of more than a dozen members.  The 
Emirati officials expressed appreciation for the briefing and 
pledged continued cooperation with the program. 
 
DUBAI INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL MEETINGS 
 
¶9. (SBU) As a member of the interagency delegation led by 
AA/S McNerney, Stitziel met with Dubai Customs officials at 
Port Rashid, led by Mohammed Matar Al Marri, Executive 
Director of Seaports, and Abbas Abdullah Makki, Director of 
International Relations.  Formal discussions focused on 
shipments seized at the USG's request, the export control law 
enacted by the UAE in 2007, and the Emiratis' expressed 
desire for clearer, more consistent, and more detailed 
information and requests from US officials concerning 
interdictions.  Al Marri claimed that the vast majority of 
goods imported into and transshipped through the UAE are 
consumer products, not "bad items," and that people come to 
the UAE to make money, not to commit crimes.  In contrast to 
the intrusive and sometimes offensive searches conducted by 
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, Al Marri 
claimed that Dubai Customs checks for and finds the same 
types of items, but does so in a "nice way."  During informal 
sidebar discussions, Stitziel briefed several Dubai Customs 
officials on the Blue Lantern program. 
 
¶10. (SBU) During a debriefing at Consulate General Dubai, USG 
officials explained that Dubai Customs is still a regulatory 
rather than a law enforcement agency, and that UAE officials 
are sensitive to the large number of delegations from the US 
which give a variety of sometimes competing and confusing 
messages and requests. 
 
¶11. (S/NF) Jillian Burns, Director of ConGen Dubai's Iran 
Regional Presence Office (IRPO), briefed Stitziel and other 
USG officials on IRPO's responsibilities, products, and 
activities.  The UAEG recently has started to make life a 
little more difficult for the approximately 450,000 Iranians 
in the UAE, according to Burns.  This has included 
restrictions on Iranians' ability to come and go and to 
obtain residence permits and citizenship.  United Nations 
 
STATE 00058327  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
sanctions also have raised the cost of doing business for 
Iranians, many of whom view the UAE as equivalent to Hong 
Kong and Iran as equivalent to mainland China. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Stitziel briefed the Blue Lantern program and 
discussed various technology protection issues with Douglas 
Einsel, Resident Agent in Charge, U.S. Naval Criminal 
Investigative Service (NCIS).  In addition to sharing his 
knowledge and experiences in Dubai, Einsel put Stitziel in 
contact with an FBI agent in the US who is currently working 
a case involving United States Munitions List (USML) articles. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Political officer Danusia Hubah arranged a meeting 
with Commander David Bancroft, Naval Co-operation & Guidance 
for Shipping, Maritime Trade Operations (Dubai), United 
Kingdom Royal Navy, on February 27.  In addition to 
discussing the Blue Lantern program and illicit arms 
trafficking around the Arabian Peninsula and Horn of Africa, 
Bancroft gave Stitziel the names of several companies for 
inclusion on PM/DTCC's Watchlist and put Stitziel in contact 
with Juliana Ruhfus of the U.N. Somalia Monitoring Group, who 
provided additional information concerning illicit activities 
in the region. 
 
¶14. (C) In order to gain a first-hand impression of the 
workings of the import/export business in Dubai, Hubah gave 
Stitziel an informal tour of Dubai's "Creek," an inlet of the 
Persian Gulf whose banks are stacked high with all kinds of 
goods that are loaded on and off dhows which ferry to and 
from Iran.  Given the heavy volume and chaotic nature of 
trade and the limited resources of Dubai Customs, one can 
imagine the relative ease with which USML articles can be 
illicitly shipped to Iran. 
 
¶15. (U) PM/DDTC would like to express its gratitude to 
Embassy Abu Dhabi and ConGen Dubai, and especially economic 
officer Oliver John and political officer Danusia Hubah for 
their work in helping to arrange and execute this visit. 
RICE